SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/618747
landing on the driver's side door. It knocked them senseless. After regaining their composure, Tennis and Nauleau kicked out the remnants of the windshield and by some miracle got the wheels back on the ground and continued on the course and were making up for lost time. By then, Hollenbeck had gained the lead once again, and he wasn't about to give it up. Just as things were going well for Hollenbeck and his team, a spring plate broke. "We ended up about 40 minutes or so behind Team CBCFS from that incident," Hollenbeck recalled. "We knew the official SCORE race was over, but not our race. Not Class 11!" Hollenbeck and team RLM de Mexico ended up getting back on the course and were running without brakes. "A wild ride that's for sure," Hollenbeck said. So brakes or not, they were determined to finish this year. Somehow in the madness, Wallentine and his team found themselves in the lead ahead of Hollenbeck. Wallentine's team made it to the second and third checkpoint before officially timing out due to suspension problems. "I was not going to quit," Wallentine said. The team set out to fix the car and were determined to get it back onto the course. FINISH AT PRE- DAWN Sometime before dawn, all three teams closed in on the finish line injured but able. Wallentine's team had two blown out front shocks, broken leaf springs, and were riding on the limit stops. The engine and trans were great, and the rear suspension was still in perfect condition. Nauleau and team CBCSF were still reeling from their roll- over accident, and Hollenbeck/ RLM de Mexico had more problems but also managed to continue on. At mile marker 750, team CBCSF changed driving positions with Nauleau behind the wheel and Tennis serving as his co-driver. That's when a front driver's side shock broke through the shock tower. Nauleau's bad luck had returned. Even with this mishap, Nauleau continued on. "We knew we could get to the finish line around 3:20 a.m.," said Nauleau. A RACE WITHIN A RACE While any chance of an official SCORE finish was lost, it was pure will that kept these Class 11 drivers going. These teams and drivers wanted to complete what they started back in Ensenada. Nauleau could see the dim lights of the town ahead, and while he imagined crowds of onlookers, the reality of what he saw was hard to swallow. No one was there, except their remaining crew, members of Team RLM de Mexico, and two wayward photographers that hadn't gone home yet. It was eerily quiet. But they loved it. Bloodshot eyes and all. As Nauleau/CBCFS celebrated at the finish with the few onlookers, Hollenbeck, and his RLM de Mexico team pulled across the finish line. Emotions erupted. All of these racers thought the moment was euphoric. Shortly thereafter, the Wallentine team managed to finish. For them, Class 11 had conquered the 48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 and had beat the odds. Hollenbeck summed it up this way, "I can't say it's all about the course or the car. We made a lot of poor decisions out there. We are a young team and we are learning stuff. Some people come down and say I've had it. I'll never do this again. Then we see people like Eric and Paul and we look forward to the next event. One cool thing is going through town and driving into Ensenada, through the streets I drive through daily. It was unbelievable. There were no ribbons, trophies, or scores. No nothing. Except friends and family watching. We didn't officially finish the race, but we made it to the finish line!" While the official SCORE record books will reflect zero finishers in Class 11 for 2015. Some remember the "race within a race." Unofficially, Nauleau's CBCFS in the number 1116 car finished first, followed by Hollenbeck in the RLM de Mexico number 1121 car, and the number 1113 car of Wallentine Motorsports. But for these racers, the order isn't as important as simply finishing the race. These teams, Nauleau, Hollenbeck, and Ballentine, raced with the heart of champions and demonstrate what it takes to compete in SCORE SJ. 074 SCORE JOURNAL